#APCNewToMe I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House

I recently decided I needed to expand my musical horizons because I’d let my musical tastes go stale. That’s not to say what I have been listening to sucks, I’m just saying I’ve been listening to the same stuff for way too long. It’s time to find something new.

To accomplish this, Every week this year I’m going to search out a band I’ve never heard before through Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, or by whatever means necessary, to give them a shot at being in my personal rotation on a permanent basis.

Every time I do, I’m going to write about it here.

I’m not here claiming any of the musicians I find for this category are new to music, I’m just finding musicians who are new to me. It’s a big world out there, and I can’t listen to everything at the same time. It takes me a while to get to the good stuff sometimes.

I’m also not here to bring anybody down. I believe in what Mike Muir of Suicidal Tendencies said decades ago, “Just because you don’t understand what’s going on, don’t mean it don’t make no sense; and just because you don’t like it, don’t mean it ain’t no good.”

My appreciation of music knows not the boundaries of a genre defined by the man, for my appreciation is free to run wild among the sounds of the world. I have free-range musical tastes, so don’t expect to see too much of any one thing.

I don’t claim to have any expertise in music, mainly because I don’t have any expertise in it. I can claim, however, that I listen to a whole bunch of it. That’s gotta count for something, right?

It is what it is. This is my journey. You’re just allowed to come along for the ride. If you want to. It’s up to you. I mean, there’s room if you want to go, but I understand if you would rather stay here. I’m not always the best company, and there’s this odor thing, which I’m trying to get corrected. I can’t help it, it’s physiological. But if you do decide you want to come along though, that’s cool. I’ll try not to be too annoying about it. I won’t even talk to you if you don’t want me to.

Whatever the case, here’s the first one:

I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House

This first time meeting was set up by the algorithm at Spotify, which analyzed my history and believed the sounds I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House make would match with the sounds I listen to.

They were right on this one.

I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House sounds like the band I’m always praying I’ll find when I’m digging through stacks of obscure records by “southern rock bands” from the 1970s, but have yet to ever find.

It’s blues-driven rock of a classic style, complete with harmonica accompaniment from time to time, and a catalog of songs that go from tear-jerking ballads to house-rocking numbers that’ll punch you right in the balls.

These guys aren’t from the south though. They’re from the pacific northwest.

Their latest album is called Mayberry.

The title song is an ode to Andy Taylor, the sheriff character Andy Griffith parlayed into being an iconic television father, and how men like these don’t exist any more. The song is more about a son having a tough time getting along with his father, at least that’s what I think. Again, no expert here.

Here’s what someone more smarter than me said about I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House:

Every great once in a while, something comes along to remind you of what rock ‘n’ roll is supposed to sound like, to push rock’s essence and spirit into your veins and manipulate your heart and mind. I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House — their full moniker is borrowed from bare-knuckle legend John L. Sullivan’s vivid biography — is a raucous quintet out of Portland, Oregon, and one of those rare throwback-catalysts. For the past couple of months, they have been on an erratic, scorched-earth campaign of the Western states, making instant believers out of audience after audience. I Can Lick’s heady mix of Americana and punk reminiscent of Robbie Robertson and the Band, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and Black Flag — has also converted dozens of marquee-mates, who have learned the hard way that following I Can Lick on the bill is often an embarrassing situation.

(Excerpted from an interview conducted by Steve Stav for Ink19) — which I excerpted from the I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House Website.

I dig ‘em. I’m including them in my #APCNewToMe playlist on Spotify. Now we just have to see how much staying power they have.